The Title Is
by Namiooo
Summary: Albion, by definition, is not a normal organization. Self indulgent short stories; OCs include the Albions and Seth's mum. Explanations on their existences can be demanded. Rated T for safety.
1. Chapter 1

AR∀GO belongs to Arai Takahiro. The Albions, too, belong to him: I actually just stole whatever info there is about them and expanded on it, with lots of my own headcanons. So they're OCs because they literally have two panels as well as a scene listing of their names.

The sentence in the summary is, indeed, true. You can demand explanations for the OCs- I will provide them. I swear they have a purpose. Except in kid fics. Please note that kid fics are, literally, self indulgence. Two kids are double the self indulgence.

* * *

There are claims nobody could confirm.

Here is one:

"We spent a week basically playing hide and seek with a Black Dog," Tim said, pushing the vegetables in his giant pan. "Until Kevin accidentally chased it away with half a gallon of iced lemonade."

Coco glanced at Colo, eyebrows knitted in worry.

Arago's look of disbelief made Fraser laugh.

"And Kevin was just waving it around because Maria, the cook, rarely wanted to make lemonade because there's twelve of us, so he got excited. He was like, what, eight? But iced drinks and waving around usually resulted as well as it would and the Black Dog scampered away, leaving the burned trail you see on the fence outside."

Seth realised he had been rereading the same three words over and over again.

"And the best part is that the Black Dog was following us because we found some old magical weapons so we basically hopped around throwing artefacts at each other for a week, until we saw a passing ùruisg and asked for their help to hide it," Oz added. "The ùruisg looked perplexed, but did it after we offered them cream."

"Which was why we had lemonade to begin with," Edna continued.

"I don't follow," Arago said.

"That's why the lemonade is the sacred drink of this house," Gillian concluded. The Albions then moved on to another topic as Tim finished cooking lunch, dumping it all on a huge plate and serving it. Amidst the chatter, Seth could hear Arago's little "What?" and see the confused looks Coco and Rio shared, as well as Joe's raised eyebrows. He decided to give them a pass. This was their first time.

* * *

By claims Seth meant the ridiculous stories the Albion made up. He had _no_ idea who taught them to be storytellers, but they desperately needed to find a better teacher, because if Arago was starting to be suspicious of the stories, then they could not convince an immigrant who did not speak English.

* * *

A/N: I won't even explain this one. Let the confusion get the message through.


	2. Chapter 2

**From:** Com Jr

Sent at 3.01 a.m.

_Where are you?_

Oz sighed out a cloud of white as he collapsed into the driver's seat. It had been one hell of a week, with almost nonstop action and sitting at mind-numbing meetings, and now he was faced with his least favourite part of these missions: driving back home.

It really wasn't fun. All he wanted after these trips were some hot, soothing soup and a quick shower. His bones ached and there were dirt in places he'd rather not name, and sitting in these clothes for another few hours made him cringe. There was still a report to type up, too, and the car was freezing cold from being left outside for hours in the middle of January. Everything blurred when he blinked.

**To:** Com Jr

Sent at 3.07 a.m.

_car. eil don._

**From:** Com Jr

Sent at 3.07 a.m.

_Edna will be there in ten._

Oz cracked a smile.

When he was jerked back to consciousness, Edna's face was nearly pressed against the window.

"Wake up and scoot over." With that warning she opened the door and nudged him into the passenger seat, ignoring his grumbled, vague protests. He could barely see by now- blinking hard did nothing to restore his sight- but he could 'see' her sympathetic look as she took his place in the driver's seat. "Darn, it's cold here. We're abandoning this once we get to Dornie House."

The door shut with a small thud. Oz closed his eyes.

Wordlessly, Edna reached over to the back seat and pulled blankets from its pile, draping it over him. A clumsy mechanical hand then fixed his big scarf, adjusting it so that they grazed against his cheeks, and there was a moment of silence before she started the car. Oz smiled.

"Sleep," she said. "I'll wake you up when we get to Dornie's."

He did as she said.

* * *

A/N: Explanation time! Bear with me, it will be longer than the fic.

In short, this is a "some Albions still live" AU where the Albions are alive, but heavily injured. Most of them are amputated or disabled in some ways, leaving Oz to do all the heavy lifting. Reference to non-canon Albions will be prevalent.

Albion is a close-knit, unconventional family.


	3. Chapter 3

**From:** Gil

Sent at 2:49 pm

_Fraser won't come out_.

**To:** Gil

Sent at 2:51 pm

_can u 2 get in n just sit there? Hug him if he lets u_

**From:** Gil

Sent at 2:52 pm

_Ok._

**To:** Gil

Sent at 2:53 pm

_I'll try to be home this week. Did Edna get back 2 u?_

**From:** Gil

Sent at 2:53 pm

_She's at Seelie Court._

"Oz?"

Oz snapped his phone shut, turning to the source of the voice. Arago stood behind him, Seth in tow- he was sweating, though not panting, thanks to Brionac. They finished training. _Ah, trouble._

"Do you need anything?" he snapped.

"Sheesh," Arago grumbled. "We've been standing here for like five minutes. Training's done."

"All right."

"I'll give you the report," Seth interjected as Arago opened his mouth. His eyes met Oz's, showing his understanding. Bless the few that were actually in the loop with Albion. They were the rare people who understood their predicament. "I'm taking my leave. I have a shift in twenty."

"Thanks, Stringer."

"What's up anyway?" Arago asked as Seth left, light footsteps the only other noise other than the ambient nature. "You look agitated."

"Problems at home," Oz simply replied.

"And you can't go home?"

Oz snorted, bitterness tainting his expression. Usually he had very few qualms with his job, or at least understood and tolerated them out of the fact that they were important and that he was the only one who could do it or something like that. "It's too far and I'm in the middle of a mission."

"To protect me," Arago murmured. He was silent for a second before looking at him. "Well, I can protect myself. Go home."

"It's not that-"

His phone vibrated.

**From:** Lil Devil

Sent at 2:59

_I can teleport you if you do it fast. I'm coming over tonight._

Oz cracked a small smile. "Thanks, Arago."

And with that, he chased after Seth.


	4. Chapter 4

When Selena entered the Albion kitchen, the children who made up the organisation were, strangely enough, absent. Edna sat with her face in her hands, papers strewn on the table in front of her, but the rest were missing- a strange sight, after associating them with being together for nearly everything.

But as if the spell was broken, Edna jerked upright and turned to her, a dim smile on her face. But she then cleared her throat, as though reverting to a facade.

"Oh, morning Mrs. Stringer."

"Good morning Edna," she replied, tilting her head. "It's surprisingly quiet today?"

Edna laughed nervously, waving a hand. "Gil went out for quiet times. Fraser's gone back to sleep, his legs are hurting him. Tim's in bed."

Selena pursed her lips, but she didn't pursue the matter any longer. She knew- read up on- the hardships of both PTSD and amputations, which was the most noticeable thing in the Miller household. As far as she knew, Gillian had glaucoma that irreversibly damaged her eyes, too, as the previous two surgeries failed to permanently return her sight. She could still see, but she often needed some time alone to deal with it. Selena never asked questions when it come to the Albion's requests. Still, she sat down near Edna, who shifted her seat to maintain a bit of a distance.

"And you're…?"

"Ah," Edna said, shrugging. "Just dealing with paperwork and lesson planning for the new Albion. We had to turn it to a kind of academy or something- and I have to reprioritise some things."

Selena frowned. Although she understood that only Albion can change itself, to give someone unused to being a teacher _and_ who was still adjusting to amputation and prosthesis that kind of job?

And as if Edna read her mind, she cracked a lopsided smile. "Nah, don't worry about me. I'm doing pretty darn good, actually. I worry more about Oz."

"I worry about the both of you." Selena bit her lips as she thought of what she had seen during the months she stayed here. She had gone to physical therapy with all of them, trying to walk again after being bedridden for so long, but as expected, she was the first to recover. And now she stayed with them for safety, but the longer she stuck around, the more she felt the need to protect _them_.

They were still so young.

"We visit the psychologist often, if that's what you're asking," Edna said. "Oz and I still go to gain our footing."

_We still get help for how shaky helping the others leave us_ were the unsaid words.

"In the end, Albion has been really good at providing us with the help we need. If we ask for a nurse, we'll get one. We used to have one, back when Oz was still too busy. We had a cook, too. In fact, we had a cook for most of our childhood, so it wasn't like you can say that Albion is guilty of neglect."

"I know," Selena said, but her expression was still somber. She knew that.

But there was the fact that Tim was still twenty two and had a crippling experience- and then intense phobia- of fire, and Fraser was twenty five and he hid himself away when his pain struck. She had not seen the grafts, but he let it slip one day. Gillian sometimes stared off into things Selena couldn't see, but she doubted there were anything to begin with.

Edna and Oz, though they were always like this, had to keep up their happy sides. And that was what Selena worried about most. It couldn't have been easy.

But Edna laid her prosthesis on Selena's hand, snapping her back to reality. Her brown eye was sharp as they stared into her, as if telling her to understand.

"There's nothing I wouldn't do for my family, even if it includes faking a laughter or two. You do understand that, don't you? Seth saw through it, but you'd do it for him."

Selena looked away, a bittersweet smile stretching her lips. She didn't like thinking- remembering- about it, but she understood.

The moments Seth looked at her, eyes pleading for her to stop the smiles and pretend that everything was okay, were some of the hardest times in her life. In a way, it was her only way to keep herself from breaking down. Seth deserved a castle for a home so that he could go and live, see the world and be able to come back and tell her everything he'd seen. He didn't mind the fact that they barely lived decently, and that was a blessing. But for her to be unable to provide him with the _warmth_ of a home hurt more than anything. She wanted to keep that light, for her sake and his.

"To be honest, we're faring a lot better than we thought," Edna added. "Gil is actually talking to us about the problems. Tim isn't being too passive. Fraser lets us help. I think those things are enough reasons for us to be able to laugh now and then."

Selena's hand gripped the plastic fingers, thumb tracing them. Her eyes stayed on the prosthesis, a melancholic smile gracing her lips. "You're right."

There was a moment of silence before Edna laughed. "Don't worry about us, really. I mean, poems are more your thing but the sun ain't going anywhere, right? Even if it's perpetually cloudy here, it's still there somewhere. It'll show up sometime. Isn't that part of your philosophy?"

"You're right." It was strange, really. She didn't understand what made her feel so… emotional over them. But perhaps she just saw them as children. They were so young, they reminded her of Seth and his quiet maturity. " I get it. I believe in you."

Edna's grin shone as she moved back, breaking the hold. She reminded her of Oz in many ways- the casual approach, the youth- but Selena should have known that despite their air, they were adults. They were more mature than most people their age. They knew what to do, and would not feel ashamed to do it, even if it was to ask for help. Selena should have put more faith in them.

Tim strode in sleepily as Edna turned back to her work. And like that, Albion sprung back to life, like a rewound clock finally ticking again.

Selena smiled and turned the stove on for Tim.

* * *

A/N: Explanation time. Basically, Tim and Fraser were the only survivors of the first battle with Scarlet, coming out with both legs amputated and severe burns. Tim lost both his legs below knee, with the rest of the remaining limbs covered in third degree burns. Fraser lost his legs above knee, with burns reaching up to his face as he was fairly close to the front lines and thus, Scarlet.

Edna and Gil became retired earlier: Both to solo missions, but Edna was first, losing her left arm and right eye, and Gillian from glaucoma that kept reappearing. Gil has more sensitive eyes than the others, seeing brighter and clearer auras, but frankly this is just to explain why her bangs were so long when she's going to be a soldier.


	5. Chapter 5

Another Ask Meme prompt AU where one investigates a scream only to find a terrified person on the chair or table.

So Fraser it is.

* * *

Seth had just gotten back from class when a loud yell resounded in the halls.

His books— _Politics in Europe, _the copy of _Mabinogion_ he borrowed— fell with a dull thud as he rushed to the source of the sound, heart racing. The small apartment complex had always been fishy, and he always tried to ignore it; once there was some guy who set up a meth lab and then there was another who grew weed on the rooftops, but Seth drew the line at murder.

And opened the door to see a grown, buff man on the chair, barefoot while two military boots lied innocently on the floor, a few centimetres away from the tarantula he remembered was a neighbour's pet.

He stopped asking, really.

"…I thought there was a problem. Are you okay?" he asked instead, taking a step back and distancing himself from the door. The hairy little bugger (yes, not a bug; he knew, he heard the speech four times already) didn't scare him but the dark-skinned man looked ready to jump on him, and Seth was half his size and could not logically hold him up.

"_Oz did not tell me there was a _spider."

"That's 2c's pet tarantula," Seth supplied helpfully from the doorway, but the man— who looked strong enough to throw him up three stories— just glared at him for a second before turning back to the demonic spider. "Do you have a bowl? I don't want to kill the thing— the owner whines a lot already."

"The kitchen," the man choked out, eying the tarantula as it took steps closer to him. "I will kill Oz."

Taking it as a permission to enter, Seth walked past them without sparing a glance. "Don't do it here— I don't really want to deal with police and getting this apartment locked down."

Now that he had time to pay attention, this was the apartment next to his. He was _fairly_ certain that the man who rented it first was red-haired. But then again, last month it was a woman with brown, shoulder length hair who was too tall to fit the doorway and cursed down the floor at seven in the morning. And before that, he remembered someone who always came in and came out looking different. They— he didn't know their gender— never said a word whenever they passed by each other. He didn't bother to ask.

He just grabbed the bowl and got the tarantula out, like a good little boy he was.

The man finally got down the chair. "…Thank you."

"No problem. Is that it?"

"Yeah." The man looked up at the ceiling before looking back at Seth, running a hand through his short hair. His serious expression and very well built body, as well as the dog tag suggested that he was some kind of military person, but Seth had a hard time envisioning him as anyone other than the guy who climbed a chair when a tarantula appeared. Granted, those things would scare most people. Still. "My name is Fraser Miller. And you are?"

"Seth Stringer. I live next door. Just in case you didn't realise, as the inhabitants of this apartment changes every other blue moon." The people in this building were weird enough for that to not come off as strange, anyway. "Well, if that's all…"

Fraser nodded awkwardly, and so Seth retreated to the safety of his own place, making sure to grab the textbooks he dropped in the halls.

—

It was several hours later when the quiet bubble was popped with a knock on the door. When he opened them, he found a box of large pizza sitting on the floor, a glittery post-it attached to it.

_Thanks for saving my brother! Glad to have him alive._

_\- Oz._

Whatever.


End file.
